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Posted: |
Feb 5, 2018 - 11:52 PM
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By: |
Mr. Popular
(Member)
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As I stated, CD sales outside the USA have some life. The unit drop last year in the USA is concerning but the article makes some good points, if the majors outside the USA continue to sell CDs there will always be labels here willing to release them on CD as well (I am not talking about the specialty labels like Lalaland or Intrada for example - if the fans support them, they will carry on).
I always joke about how the SACD still survives. Japan loves them, they sell a lot of them and keep that format alive (SACD is the laser disc for music fans, a devoted high end fan base). CDs, like the LP before, have a place at the table as long as there is enough worldwide demand.
Read this recent article about how CDs still have a bright future.
Not dead yet: Record executives making sure the compact disc still has a future
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/dead+Record+executives+making+sure+compact+disc+still+future/16515996/story.html
TORONTO — Adrian Doran knows he's clinging onto what many consider an obsolete music format, but for him there's still plenty to love about compact discs.
Not long ago he made browsing the CD aisles of HMV Canada part of his shopping routine, but when the retailer went bust last spring he was confronted with the possibility of migrating to a streaming music service. He chose to start picking up CDs at his local independent record store instead.
"I just bought into them big time," the 52-year-old Toronto resident said of his appreciation for CDs.
Whether it's the inferior sound quality or the inaccessibility of rarities, Doran finds streaming music services don't stand up to his extensive CD collection. He tried Spotify but couldn't see past its shortcomings, particularly the missing albums in artists' back catalogues that were substituted by "greatest hits" packages.
"There's huge holes," he said of the selection. "It really surprised me."
Despite becoming what some dubbed "the year of streaming," 2017 proved those shiny little discs still have some life left in them. But it isn't necessarily because of strong consumer demand from holdouts like Doran. It's because the music industry is trying to stave off the demise of its golden goose any way it can.
CD sales were boosted this year by a trend that saw some concert tickets for big arena shows — including tours by Arcade Fire, Shania Twain and Pink — bundled with a copy of the band or artist's latest album.
Many concertgoers were offered the choice between a digital download or a CD sent through the mail. Whether those CDs were ever unwrapped is anybody's guess, but each ticket sale helped rocket those performers to the top of the album charts in their first week of sales.
Compact discs were also a huge part of Taylor Swift's launch of "Reputation," her latest album which came packaged at Walmart Canada stores with an exclusive magazine about the singer. Streaming platforms didn't get the year's top-selling album until three weeks after its release, which meant many Swifties were dusting off their parents' boomboxes to get a first listen.
Other albums like Gord Downie's posthumous "Introduce Yerself" also saw sales heavily weighted in the CD format. About 9,700 copies were sold on CD, thousands more than its digital and vinyl sales combined.
Preliminary numbers from Nielsen Music Canada show that while CD sales fell 18 per cent over the past year, still selling roughly 10 million units, they were relatively strong compared to the more dramatic erosion of digital album sales through stores like iTunes.
Digital album sales tumbled nearly 25 per cent for the year to 6.2 million units, extending what is expected to be a steep downturn as more listeners embrace streaming services.
David Bakula, who oversees Nielsen's industry insights operations, said the changes in digital habits mean the CD is representing a larger share of the declining album sales market. He believes that writing the obituary for the CD is premature as labels look to bolster album sales however they can, while older listeners stick to their usual buying habits.
"We're not seeing this flight from the format," he added.
But it's impossible to deny that CDs took an irreparable punch to the gut in Canada when HMV's 102 store closures left many communities without a music store for months. Sunrise Records eventually picked up the slack by reopening many of those locations with a stronger focus on vinyl albums.
Walmart also dramatically scaled back its CD selection while fellow retail giant Best Buy recently scrubbed music from its stores entirely.
All of this certainly hasn't boded well for boosting sales figures, but music historian Alan Cross is confident record labels will follow the dollar.
"If they can't get people into the store to buy a CD, well then (they'll) just send the CDs directly to them, whether they want it or not," he said, pointing to expectations that the success of ticket bundles will only lead to other artists experimenting with the strategy.
"By nature a lot of music fans are collectors and that means they need a physical thing to collect."
It's possible an established act like Bruce Springsteen or the Rolling Stones could try to up the ante by pairing scarce concert seats with an exclusive CD box set.
Proposals like those seem catered to loyal listeners like Doran, who picked up Serena Ryder's latest disc from the merchandise table at a Toronto concert a couple of weeks ago. He hopes shelling out the money in person gave Ryder a little more of the profits.
But even in his household, the CD isn't as prominent as it once was. Usually after buying a disc he rips the tracks onto his computer before tossing the physical copy into a box he's marked with an ominous label: "Dead CDs."
"That was kind of bleak humour," he added.
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There was a time when the city of Cologne featured the Saturn Music Dome, in its day the store with the largest selection of first vinyl and later CDs in the world.
At one time, its classical music selection alone spread out over two department size floors. The Saturn Music Dome still exits, though it is no longer really a temple for music collectors.
Today, the entire CD selection of this store is just the size of one of those floors... rock/pop/jazz/world/soundtrack/classical/ etc.. all that's left can be found in the fraction of the space that was once needed.
Convenience is more important than quality for most people, which is why they were satisfied with MP3s over CDs. Nowadays, there are even streaming services where you can stream lossless and even high-res music. There is little reason for any casual music listener to still purchase CDs (or any other physical medium).
In our niche, CDs will be around for a little longer, but even there it won't be around forever. There is less demand for CDs, and that likely includes less demand for specialty label CDs as well. It used to be that 3000 unit releases sold out in days if not hours... no more. And, indeed, I probably have most of the film music I will ever buy. Sure, here and there something interesting that's new will come along (I bought Blade Runner 2049, Shape of Water,Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, etc.), and there will be some interesting re-releases or re-recordings, but for the most part, most of the important stuff.. it has been released. (Heck, even Damnation Alley has been released.)
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Another sign pointing to the potential death of CDs is that cars are coming out in 2018 without CD players installed. It's all digital music, usually through a smartphone via Bluetooth.
If the owner has the money and compunction, they can have a CD player installed. It may even be an option at the time of purchase.
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Another sign pointing to the potential death of CDs is that cars are coming out in 2018 without CD players installed. It's all digital music, usually through a smartphone via Bluetooth.
If the owner has the money and compunction, they can have a CD player installed. It may even be an option at the time of purchase.
No, for some cars, it's no longer an option at the time of purchase at all.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2017/03/02/the-time-has-come-to-say-goodbye-to-the-cd-player-in-new-american-cars/#15ecf11d2e88
And with the amount of electronics in cars these days, I'm sure it's not as simple as just installing a CD player somewhere. There's certainly no room for one in the dash with these automobiles.
I sure as hell don't need a CD player in my car anymore if I can take hundreds of "CDs" with me as digital files. No more CD changing, no more physical CDs left in the sun... The last place where I miss CDs would be in my car.
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"No CD player, no sale" The dealership will suddenly find a way to install a $50 dollar piece of metal and plastic in your car.
If it were a $50 dollar piece, yes. But yesterday's car radios are today's car computers, and they are deeply tied into the vehicle. They can be controlled via steering wheel controls or voice control, contain navigational systems, etc... to add a CD player usually means to replace the entire system for one with a CD player. That is still an option in many cars, but it costs $600.- and up.
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Wheel control is just wires leading from it. You don't have to have it anymore than voice control.
People do more complicated things in Youtube videos with electronics.
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You must not have been in a nice, new car recently.
Ah, so new cars don't have wiring, can't be taken apart by yourself or a mechanic and use, what? Lasers and holograms? I've seen new cars.
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It sure is possibly to exchange a car radio, I've done it myself a few years ago, updating a car stereo/CD player to one that included streaming. Though it is tricky and while I could preserve steering wheel controls, the second screen was reduced in its functionality. And it sure cannot be done for $50.-. Often times, it is just not worth it. As far as voice control and steering wheel controls are concerned: maybe you don't need them, but I most definitely do need them (for the phone alone voice control is imperative). At least, I need that a lot more than a CD player in a car. :-)
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Okay, so are you babbling about aesthetics? 'cause there's always way. Do you care about looks or about getting the job one?
'cause what about that photo indicates it can't be done?
Also, you link to an image of one make and model. There are plenty of other makes and models.
Otherwise I'm down to your personal preferences on what you want in a car, 'cause that photo doesn't say "It's not possible to put a CD player in here"
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